Air-bound spring cushion



March 2, 1937. R. o. SMITH AIR-BOUND SPRING CUSHION Filed oct. 51, 1934 Mmmm l View INVENTOR M m n 0.,m l O kf n. w A; Pam .A m. Mw

Patented Mar. 2, 1937 AIR-BOUND SPRING CUSHION Rudolph O. Smith, Bridgeport, Conn., assigner to The Owen Silent Spring Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application october 31, i934, serial No. 750,796

2 Claims.

The present invention has for an object to provide improvements in semi-pneumatic spring cushions, or, air-bound cushions, as they are commonly called.

Such cushions usually have a rubberized envelope through which air can pass comparatively slowly. The envelope is normally kept in distended or inflated condition by means of springs but when the cushion is compressed it will not collapse suddenly because the resistance offered by the springs is aided by the air ltrapped within the envelope. However, as the air slowly escapes through the envelope the cushion will gradually settle. When the load is removed from the cushion the springs tend to restore the envelope to its distended condition and air will slowly nd its way in through the envelope. By

this means the highly resilient action of the ordinary spring cushion is pneumatically snubbed or damped.

One of the draw-backs to air bound spring cushions as heretofore made has been the fact that the pneumatic envelope has customarily been placed immediately under the outer upholstery covering. As a result, such cushions are uncomfortable in warm weather because the rubberized pneumatic envelope is not sufficiently removed from close contact with the body.

An object of the present invention is to overcome this difficulty by providing Ventilation between the cover and the air retaining envelope.

A more specific object is to provide a thick padding between the envelope and the outer cover of the cushion.

,. Other objects and advantages of applicants invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment and thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates, in transverse section, an air-bound cushion embodying applicants invention.

In the drawing, a series of springs I0 is shown. These springs may be connected to one another 45 by clips or by any other of the well-known means employed in upholstery. The series of springs will, therefore, be referred to hereinafter as a spring unit.

Surrounding the spring unit is a layer II of A55 Around theI envelope I2 is provided a layer I3 of padding. This layer does not need to be placed under the envelope I2 but preferably is provided on all other sides of the envelope and is of greatest thickness on the top wall of the envelope. The paddingis kept in place by means of an 5 outer cover Ilfl which completely surrounds the structure. This cover It may constitute the finished cover of the cushion or may be further covered by suitable upholstery material.

It will be observed that the cushion comprises l0 a large inner air chamber It which is completely enclosed by the envelope I2, the latter being held normally in distended position by the springs lll. When a load is placed von the top of the cushion the springs must yield, but their resistance to 15 yielding is aided by the air confined within the chamber It. Gradually, however, this air escapes from the envelope and, passing through the padding I3 and cover It, serves to ventilate the space between the cover and the envelope. Because of the wide separation of the envelope from the cover and because of the enforced circulation of air when the cushion is compressedunder a load this cushion will be found very comfortable in service and there will be no tendency to-over- 25 heating of the body.

When the load is removed from the cushion the springs Ill will tend to restore the cushion to its original distended condition and the air will gradually force its way through the envelope into the air chamber I5.

The padding II between the envelope I2 and the springs may be dispensed with, if desired, and the envelope may rest directly on the springs. However, I find in practice that'this tends to 35 wear the envelope and hence in my preferred embodiment I employ a. padding between the springs and the envelope of a thickness merely suflicient to prevent such wear.

The terms rubberized envelope and rubberized material specied above and also in the following claims will be understood to include not only materials treated with rubber but also ma.- terials treated with rubber substitutes or rubberlike substances.

Having thus described my .invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is as follows:

I claim:

1. A cushion. of the character described, comprising a minutely porous rubberized envelope offering high resistance to the passage of air therethrough, the pores of the envelope constituting the sole passage for air into and out of the envelope, spring means tending to distend the sa envelope, a cover surrounding the envelope, said into and out of the envelope and offering high resistance to such passage, a. cover surrounding the envelope, said cover being made of material freely pervious to air, a thick la-yer of porous pad ding between the cover and the envelope and another layer of padding between the spring unit y and the envelope.

RUDOLPH O. SMITH. 

